Euro zone consumer prices rose by 1.6 percent in March compared with a year earlier as the inflation rate remained steady at its lowest rate since November 1999, Eurostat said on Wednesday. The early estimate of inflation in the dozen-member bloc by the European Union statistics agency compares with the European Central Bank's tolerance limit of 2.0 percent and was in line with economists' expectations. The data comes at a time when financial market speculation is growing that the ECB could cut interest rates, possibly even as early as this week. Eurostat's flash estimate for the month does not include any details and the monthly change in consumer prices and further breakdowns will only become available next month. |||